How can you get tired of so many ideas, so much invention? With a commentary, a guidebook, enter the Dublin labyrinth. Any other book will pale by comparison. Overwhelming, dull, funny, poignant, erotic, insane: that's life.

Very odd autobiographical novel, haunting and disturbingly immediate: an Irish dissident enters Nazi Germany. Francis Stuart angered more than he entertained with his semi-fictionalized exposure of mid-20c experiences.

The title tells you: inspirational yet not sappy, deadly serious while life-affirming. A book any one curious about one's fate may reflect upon, and perhaps agree with. Or at least open your mind to new possibilities. Why not?

This inspired me at twelve to study medieval literature at twenty. Tolkien's linguistic acumen and prose mastery cannot be matched by any fantasy competitor-- he ruined me as I can't read anyone else in this genre!

Every English major's scanned a few, but study rewards a return to them. Humanism blends with faith, medieval narratives with aspirations towards the whole range of desire, from the bawdy to the sublime. Rewarding.

Sometimes you need to let ideas drift and creation approach. California's beauty as seen by one who told us about its passing and its predicament; by doing so he popularized and pioneered conservation of forests for us.

Thanks for comments, Lunchers. Fionnabhair, I've read all of "Ulysses" around four times, but I admit to dipping into it more. I have an audio reading as a radio adaptation from RTE (Irish radio/tv) that I like, and there' s also good versions by Donal Donnelly and by Jim Norton.

Great list, John! I'm most interested in #5, #9 and #10. Will have to check those out! :)

FionnchuAugust 03, 2010

Devora, #9 the Canterbury Tales does exist in some modern translations-- I will be reviewing Peter Ackroyd's soon, although I think Chaucer's not much more difficult than Shakespeare if you have annotations for the original. After all, we don't "translate" the Bard.